Fosnæs Finishes 12th in Both Races at Colby Carnival

Saturday- 2k loop that the women did 3 times and the men 5 times. Technically challenging with relatively short uphills and twisty fast descents. The snow cover was thin with most of the racing surface made up of man-made snow. The snow on the downhill corners quickly got scraped off making the corners treacherous.

Sunday- 4.3k loop that the women did 4 times and the men did 5 times. It was the same as the race course for Saturday with the addition of 2km of rolling terrain to start with. Unlike the latter part of the loop this part of the course was primarily covered with natural snow and skied easier then the second 2k despite a little bit more dirt.

After somewhat lackluster results at the St. Lawrence University Carnival last weekend the team took some steps in the right direction this weekend. Eirik led the men's team with two 12th place finishes on the weekend.

Friday during course inspection the skiing was treacherous with dirty ice patches on the hilliest part of the course. Saturday dawned clear and cold and the tracks on the course were hard and fast. The groomers had done a great job moving snow around. While the downhills were still hard and fast, the surface was a lot more consistent and fair. Kati Christoffel, 74th place, led the women to a 13th place finish only 3 points behind St. Michael's college to start off the day. Several women skied in their first college classic races on Saturday. Hilary Saucy '16, Natasha Smith '15, and Ghazaleh Sailors '15 all had a tough introduction to classic racing with such a challenging course.

In the men's race Eirik lead the way for the men with a 12th place finish taking his first step towards qualifying for the NCAA Championships in March. He was skiing in the top 10 for the first half of the race but faded a little in the last couple kilometers. He, Joey, and Justin combined for an 8th place team finish equaling a program best EISA finish.

Saturday's race also doubled as the Chummy Cup for 2013. The Chummy Cup is a single day race recognizing the Maine Intercollegiate skiing champions. Eirik was the top Maine intercollegiate finisher in the men's race and was joined on the Men's All-State Team by second teamers Joey Bard, 6th, and Justin Fereshetian, 8th. In the team scoring the men and women combined for 102 points and 4th place finish. They were only 5 points out of 2nd.

MEN'S FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE

Eirik Fosnæs UMPI

Jordan Buetow Bates

Jake Barton Colby

Alex Hamilton Bates

Lucas Milliken Bates

MENS SECOND TEAM ALL-STATE

Joey Bard UMPI

James Crimp Bowdoin

Justin Fereshetian UMPI

Jared Supple Colby

Jackson Bloch Bowdoin

WOMENS FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE

Kaitlynn Miller Bowdoin

Hallie Grossman Bates

Jane McLarney Bates

Gretchen Sellegran Bates

Hannah Wright Bowdoin

WOMENS SECOND TEAM ALL-STATE

Margaret Pope Bates

Molly Susla Colby

Elizabeth Anderson Colby

Sarah Brockett Colby

Shelby Aseltine Bowdoin

TEAM SCORES:

Bates 130

Bowdoin 107

Colby 105

UMPI 102

Sunday also dawned clear and cold. The women went first for the second day in a row. This time Hilary lead the way for the women with an 84th place finish and a second 13th place team finish. In a mass start the skiers are lined up (seeded) by previous results. Hilary was seeded 89th but managed to move up to 84th over the course of the race. Molly Lindsey and Kati Christoffel rounded out the team scoring but the women were a little further adrift of St. Michael's on Sunday.

Eirik again lead the way for the men and took another big step towards qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Despite being seeded only 40th Eirik quickly moved into contention with the lead group of skiers. After the first 2km of rolling terrain he was in contact with the first 15-20 skiers that would eventually break away from the field. During the second lap Eirik stuck to that group as Scott Patterson from UVM strung things out as he broke away skiing to the win. During the third lap Eirik was dangling towards the back of a pack fighting for second place. Unfortunately he couldn't quite keep contact and slipped back skiing in no man's land with a couple of skiers from UVM and eventually finished 12th.

Joey also skied a really smart race, moving up from a 55th place starting position to finish 27th. He skied smart, steadily moving up through the field and blowing by one last guy in the last 150m. It was his fourth best finish as an Owl and helped him score his first points towards qualifying for the NCAA Championships this season. The guys combined for another 8th place finish which was solid but I think they are capable of finishing as high as 4th if everyone continues to improve.